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Rinaldo di Chimici
Rinaldo di Chimici is the Cardinal of the Talian Church and valet to Pope Lenient VI, his uncle. He is a recurring antagonist in the Stravagana series and is particularly obsessed with uncovering the secrets of the Stravaganti for the benefit of the di Chimici family. Overview Rinaldo is the second son of the Fabrizio and Isabella of Volana and the younger brother of Alfonso di Chimici, the current Duke of Volana. Unlike most members of his family, he is considered unattractive and has a dislikeable personality. In Rinaldo's initial appearance in City of Masks, he has been assigned by his uncle, the head of the family, as the di Chimici Ambassador to Bellezza. He dislikes Bellezza, particularly because of the smell of the canals, but endures his displeasure in order to fulfill his uncle's wishes to convince the Duchessa of Bellezza to sign over her city in an alliance with the di Chimici. When the Duchessa proves to be too formidable to persuade, Rinaldo decides the best method to succeed would be to assassinate the Duchessa and replace her with a puppet ruler. His second attempt apparently succeeds, though he fails to install his cousin Francesca as the new Duchessa when Arianna Gasparini wins the election instead. In one last attempt, he bribes citizens of Bellezza to challenge Arianna's legitimacy and tries to accuse her of witchcraft by kidnapping Arianna's friend, Lucien Mulholland, to overturn her election. His efforts to take Bellezza for the di Chimici ultimately fail.City of Masks In City of Stars, Rinaldo appears in Remora in an effort to get over his failure in Bellezza and obtain the annulment his cousin Francesca has demanded of him after forcing her to marry Councillor Albani. However, he reluctantly introduces his former associate, Enrico Poggi, to his uncle, Duke Niccolo and aids the conspiracy to make the Twelve of the Ram lose the coming Stellata. When Niccolo's plans for Bellezza fall through, he turns his attention to strengthening the next generation of the di Chimici family. After arranging the marriages of Rinaldo's brother Alfonso and younger sister, Caterina, Niccolo assigns Rinaldo to become become a Cardinal in the Reman Church after Rinaldo expresses no desire for marriage. He becomes the Pope's personal chaplain and begins to show his ambitions to become a more powerful member of the family. During Niccolo's duel against Luciano Crinamorte in City of Flowers, Rinaldo recognizes that old Duchessa has apparently survived the assassination attempt, which ultimately causes Niccolo's death when Enrico chooses to switch the foils used in the duel so that Niccolo is poisoned instead of Luciano. With Niccolo's death, Rinaldo carefully ensures that he remains in his cousin Fabrizio's favour and convinces his cousin Filippo to befriend Luciano in Padavia in order to learn the secrets of the Stravaganti. Though they succeed in stealing the talisman of Matteo Bosco and succeed in an accidental stravagation to London, they fail to obtain any new insight on the Stravaganti and opt to keep their failure a secret from Fabrizio. Notes and References *Rinaldo is the only di Chimici to have appeared every book in the series so far Category:Characters Category:Di Chimici Category:Talian Character Category:Deceased Characters